The blog will offer purely objective and candid analyses for a better understanding of the events that keep happening and that provide dynamism and direction to the flow of the history and development of the human societies. Being a forum, the comments and opinions from readers whether for or against the views expressed in it, are gratefully welcome. Suggestions for improving the blog are welcome.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

In order
to fulfil his agenda of reforms outlined during electioneering campaign,
President Trump has issued several executive orders. The
president and his colleagues are busy in building up a structural and
governance framework being undertaken and executed by a Transition Team led by
the vice-president Mike Pence. The transition team has an executive committee
with experienced individuals in their line of skills and expertise.

The Transition Team in dealing with a host of issues.
These issues have been categorized as Defense & National Security,
Immigration Reform, Building the Wall between Mexico and USA, Energy
Independence, Tax Reform, Education, Transportation & Infrastructure,
Financial Services Reform, Healthcare Reform, Veterans Administration Reform,
Protecting Americans' Constitutional Rights.

The first executive order signed by president Trump on
January 21 is about Affordable Care Act or the so-called Obama Healthcare Plan.
This order calls for either complete replacement of the Obamacare or
drastically scaling it down.

On 23 January, which was his first full workday in the
office, President Trump signed three executive orders. The first one was
related to the withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific
Partnership( TPP). The second order was aimed at reinstating
the Mexico
City Policy (MCP) and dealing with NGOs (
non-governmental organizations) and abortion access.

The third order freezes federal workforce hiring.On the same day, he held meetings with CEOs of twelve major US companies.

On January 24, Trump inked five executive orders. Two
orders reverse the Obama administration's halt on the Keystone XL and Dakota
Access oil pipelines. President Trump has pleaded that these projects will
recover 28,000 jobs. Another bill that he signed makes it obligatory for the
pipelines companies to use domestic steel. Two more executive orders also bind
the companies to use domestic steel for similar future infrastructure projects.

He has signed an executive order banning immigration from
seven major Muslim countries which are Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia Sudan, Syria
and Yemen. He is expected to sign an order limiting legal immigration for
refugees fleeing persecution and visa holders from several majority Muslim
countries.

But these
executive orders, to be ratified by House and Senate don’t seem to make any
headway. For instance, the issue of building the wall between Mexico and
America has become a nonstarter. Mexico may never agree to pay for the huge
cost over building 2000 miles long wall at a staggering cost of 15 billion
dollars. Mexico is not prepared for a double jeopardy of building the wall and
then paying its cost as well.

If America builds that wall, then the cost would be met
by imposing 20 percent tariff on imports from Mexico while the American exports
would go to Mexico duty free. In the face of these harsh and one sided
conditions, the Mexican president Pena Nieto has declined to attend his working
meeting with president Trump. This should be patently seen as a foreign policy failure all the
more with a neighbor whose work force is enormously, for ages, has been useful
for the agricultural and building sectors in the United States.With regard to ban on immigration a list of Muslim
countries has already been made public.

In the foreign policy domain, there is a visible
indication that Donlad Trump would promote India in comparison to China and
beef up its economy and military potential to become a powerful contender of
China. It would be a major foreign policy shift in several decades. The
distancing from China would be an onerous undertaking and its fallout may not
be as desirable as Trump administration believes to be.

Donald administration could reverse wholly or partially
the policy and detente worked out by Obama with Iran. About the European Union
the views of president Trump are not as cordial as has been the policy of his
predecessors. He is going to maintain friendly relations with Egypt and Israel.
He is not in favor of the Palestinians’ cause for a settlement. That could be a
rerun of the G.W. Bush polices.

But it seems that implementation of his agenda of reforms
may not be a smooth sailing. For instance, many mayors across the nation have vowed to
defy an executive order signed by president Donlad Trump about the expulsion of
undocumented immigrants. They intend to take the white house to court if
federal funding is withheld. The Sanctuaries cities with large concentrations
of undocumented immigrants are promising to fight Trump’s immigration order.
Cities. The governors of many states are also in rebellious frame of mind about
the undocumented workers’ expulsion and withholding of funds

Temperamentally president Trump is a hard liner and
resorts to knee-jerk reaction to criticism .and views of the political
opponents. This attitude would keep him embedded in a perpetual rigmarole of
controversy and friction with his political counterparts within America and
even abroad. His likes and dislikes are extreme and not moderate. He doesn’t
shy of using derogatory remarks against his victims like the one he called
Hillary as the nasty woman during one of electoral debates.

He is in favor of using extreme torture methods against
the suspected terrorists one of which is water boarding. President Obama had
rejected these inhuman techniques to which the inmates at Guantanamo Bay
Detention Camp were subjected.

President Trump is susceptible to many lawsuits from his
opponents both in politics and out of it. The hacking issue may resurface that
involves Russia to facilitate his victory and defeat of Hillary Clinton. The
incoming flow of money from his overseas business is already being taken up by
a team of legal experts.

It might be pretty hard for him to come clean despite his
transfer of all business to him two sons. The issue of income tax returns is
also lingering against him for quite some time. As the president, he looks more
vulnerable and in the eye of the gathering storm that if not legally or
constitutionally justified might turn out to be like the proverbial “Sword of
Damocles” falling on him any time if not.

His claim of voters’ fraud is another issue that needs
scrutiny. However, he is certain that it happened and 3 to 5 million illegal
votes were cost him depriving him the overall higher tally of the popular
vote.

In the
meantime, top civil servants in the US State Department have resigned before
they could start working with Secretary of State, and former ExxonMobil CEO,
Rex Tillerson. The State Department's undersecretary for management Patrick
Kennedy The Assistant Secretary of State for Administration, Assistant
Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, and the director of the Office of
Foreign Missions, have all left the State Department.

The speech delivered by president Trump at
the GOP Retreat in Philadelphia on January 26 was a repetition of what
President Trump has been saying earlier. He reaffirmed his stance about the
immigration ban, eliminating the radical islamic terrorism and building of the
wall between Mexico and USA.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Within 24 hours of the oath-taking
by the newly elected president Donlad Trump of Republican Party at the Capitol
Hill, the first executive order that he signed on Friday January
21 was to direct the government agencies “”to scale back as many aspects as
possible of the Affordable Care Act or the so-called Obama Healthcare Plan.

The backlash to the first
presidential executive order about the Obama Healthcare Plan has been stunning
and colossal. Not only within the United States but hundreds of such protests
have been observed and planned in the coming days.President Trump should have taken some time
before striking down a healthcare plan that benefitted millions under-privileged
and poor sections and individuals of the society.

Incidentally, the “Women March” a
representative organization striving for women and children’s rights all over
the world held a huge gathering in the vicinity of the White House and
Washington Monument to raise voice for women and children rights that would be
curtailed by replacing or abolishing Obamacare. It was participated by about
over half a million people. That crowd looked much larger than the one that
assembled on the previous day to greet president Trump.

It may be worth mentioning that such
Women’s Marches occurred all around the world, with 408 marches reported alone in
the US, and 168 in other countries. “The march drew hundreds of thousands to Washington
D.C. alone and anywhere from 2.9 to 4.2 million in cities throughout the U.S.,
thus becoming the largest single-day protest in American history”.

During
his visit to the CIA headquarters on January 21, he spent a good part of his
speech in lambasting the media dubbing them as “among the most dishonest human
beings on earth,” accusing them for minimizing the size of the welcome crowd on
his inauguration day.

Simultaneously
at his first news conference, Sean Spicer the new White House press secretary, severely
admonished the journalists for what he described as wrongly and maliciously
diminishing the number of the welcoming and pro-Trump crowds on the
inauguration day. He threatened to take the action against such newspapers and
even journalists. The television showed that the welcome crowd at Obamas’
inauguration in 2009 was much larger than that of Donlad Trump in 2017.

This can be construed as curbing
the freedom of expression by intimidation and by threats of using the state
machinery against those news channels, newspapers and individuals who write or
report such matter that is distasteful to the president and his cohorts. Would,
for that matter the Republican Party join hands with him in snubbing the media?

What difference then can be drawn
between the controlled and oppressed media of the authoritarian regimes and
that of the United States. USA is a true democracy with shining hallmarks of
freedom of expression, liberty, religion and pursuit of happiness.

If the new administration intends
to curb the freedom of speech and fundamental rights ingrained in the American
constitution and which have been in place and respected for almost two hundred
years, then it would be the most ignoble disservice to this great country which
leads the entire world in matters relating to the respect of its citizens and
galore of liberties and a firmly entrenched democratic culture.

It
appears that the very start of the term of the 45th president of the
United states has been on the thorny grounds and with a mindset of belligerency
and bitter relations against whosever criticizes and opposes his government and
himself. It is to be seen that in coming days and weeks would the media corps
be tamed by strong arms tactics and threats of fixing the detractors.

Interestingly
Mr. Trump sent a Tweet rejoinder over the huge Women’s protest gathering on
January 21 in Washington and on other rallies in United States and abroad. The
message said “Celebs hurt cause badly”.

In another tweet, he boasted that
31 million people watched his inauguration on television that was 11 million
more than the ratings from 4 years ago, on Obama’s inauguration. As a matter of
fact, president’s Obama’s inauguration was viewed by 38 million people.

President Trump and his team is
going to start their governance in the backdrop of a massive show of anger and hatred
against the former president and even the media. As such there are grounds to
believe that the newly installed administration with president Trump may not
last long and may not be able to complete its constitutional term.

It also evident that the president
of the mightiest country in the world has engaged himself in a frivolous tit-for-tat
tweeting and name calling over such non-issues as to whose crowd was larger and
whose was not and whether press reported in his favor or against him. It is
unbecoming of a president who should not stoop so low as to engage in a blame
game like the children in the streets.

President Trump nurtures a
temperament that is shorn of tolerance and compassion. He is in the habit of
using filthy expletives and unparliamentary language to discredit or demean his
detractors and political adversaries. Among his target of repugnance and
diatribe are also the media and individual journalists whom he unabashedly
declares as “dishonest media”.

Already the elections under which Donlad
Trump won the presidency are shadowed by question marks and controversy. The
hacking of 2016 elections has not been entirely ruled out and it is still a big
question mark. Until and unless a high-powered inquiry authority finds a
conclusive outcome either in affirmative or in negative this issue would remain
burning and open to be settled for the satisfaction of the other contender
Hillary Clinton and her Democratic Party. The hacking apprehension and issue
cannot be swept under the rug.

It would also be pertinent as to
how president Trump would deal with South America specifically Mexico and Cuba.
If the past bitterness is revived, then it would be a big setback to the policy
of reconciliation enunciated by president Obama. At the same time president
Trump displays his intense hatred towards the Islamic countries most of whom are
the friends of the United States all along. If under the guise of destroying
Islamic radicals, the societies in the respective countries are destabilized,
then such a strategy or outlook would turn the billions of Muslims against the
United States. Why president Donald perceives Islamic countries as enemies?

The best he can do is to help the
Islamic countries under threat from internal religious zealots and radical outfits
by giving aid, both financial and military, to help them and deal themselves with
the indigenous threat of militants. That would be a wiser strategy. If he wants
to pursue an unwise course of military intervention, then it would destroy the harmony
that exists between most of the Islamic states and the United States thus far.

Instead the hostility between the
Islamic states and the United States would pop up. The radicals would rebound
and retaliate with a new vigor by pleading that islam was in danger at the hands
pf the heathen and Christian societies. This looks like the clash of
civilizations or a confrontation between islam and Christianity

The United States is mostly out of
the political and military adventures and blocs for a few decades now, notwithstanding
the military aid to Syria and Iraq. But such a kind of international crusade is
pregnant with extremely frightening consequences and would revive the era of
military conflicts; this time against the Islamic world.

Simultaneously president Trump
should not frighten the world at large with scary tactics and threats. It is
not going to work. He cannot force the American entrepreneurs and industrialists
to close their industries and business networks overseas and in countries like
China. It is a Herculean task that might take decades to become fruitful and
productive. In a period of four years it would be impossible for the entrepreneurs
to wind up the huge business conglomerations on the call and in conformity with
the wish of the newly elected president.

As such president, Trump’s agenda
to expel the undocumented immigrants out of America, browbeat China, destroy
the Islamic societies, abolish Obamacare just in opposition to a democratic black
president, are non-issues and can blow back in the most negative manner against
the incumbent Trump administration. The proposed Wall between Mexico and United
States cannot be built in four years’ mandate of the incumbent administration.

In the meantime, one has to ponder
why president Trump has a soft corner for the Russian president Vladimir Putin
and as to why he abhors Europe, China and most of the Islamic States whose majority
is having cordial bilateral relationship with the USA in diverse fields and
domains.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

In recognition of his splendid achievements, Dr. Harbans Lal, was given the Distinguished “Neuroscientist Scientist Award” at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Neuroscience. The “International Medal of Honor” Banquet was held on November 12, 2016 to recognize 28 Honorees. Dr. Harbans Lal was among the Faith leaders receiving the International Award for his lifelong commitment to promote interfaith engagement among the adherents of the world’s religions.

This award was presented by the Grace International Seminary founded and led by President Dr. Karen Hollie-Thibodeaux, also the Senior Minister of The Lifeway Church of Dallas, which is the only seminary for women in the USA with chapters spread in other cities.

Grace International Seminary recognized and honored various leaders of the Dallas Inter-Faith Community whose actions support Grace International's Vision and Mission through their bridge-building between diverse faiths. The award recipients’ efforts promoted people of different faiths to learn how to work together to make our world a peaceful and better place. The honorees were recognized for providing opportunities for diverse faith groups to learn from each other and share common experiences.

Dr. Lal is a distinguished neuroscientist and scholar who has been actively engaged in interfaith dialogue and engagement since his student days in Pakistan and India, and since 1956 in the United States. As a high school student (1940-46) in his native Pakistan, he promoted joint Sikh-Muslim-Hindu interfaith dialogues at the town library which he managed. During this time, he was also inducted into the Executive Committee of the All India Sikh Students Federation; in 1954 he became its national president.

Soon after entering the University of Kansas (1956), Dr. Lal led Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Christian and Jewish students into debates and dialogues, and in a celebration of Guru Nanak’s Birthday, the first such celebration ever at an American University campus. While continuing his education at the University of Chicago (1958-64), Dr. Lal continued his interfaith activities, organizing fire place discussions on interfaith topics at the UC International House, so that appreciation of faith traditions was promoted.

While still at University Dr. Lal was a sought-after speaker on the interfaith message of Guru Nanak at local churches, clubs and organizations. In Chicago, he actively promoted and participated in the Conference of World Religions presided by Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, Pakistan’s top diplomat at the UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice.

Dr. Harbans Lal was invited to join the Interfaith Council of Thanks-Giving Square in Dallas, Texas in 1983. This Council is a group of individuals representing the major religious traditions of the world. They plan seminars and workshops; they respond to religious issues and needs through the prism of thanksgiving – i.e., an appreciation of the positive qualities to be found in all our cultures and religious traditions. The group has been recognized as a strongly positive force locally and internationally, and inducted as NGO in consultative capacity.

Dr. Lal has represented at many of the Interfaith Council’s events: the annual National Day of Prayer, the 1999 Millennium Thanksgiving Conference, the 2000 Thanksgiving Symposium at the United Nations, etc. He has also represented the Sikh thought at the Parliament of World Religions in Cape Town, in Barcelona, in Australia, and at the United Nations Summit of World Religious Leaders at the United Nations’ campus in New York.

He co-organized 2001 International Conference at Amritsar and in Lahore, scholars representing Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Sikhism dialogued on interfaith engagement.

Commenting on the Lahore Conference, Judge Ali Nawaz Chowhan of United Nations and

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, said the following. It is a rare occasion in an Islamic country like Pakistan that Muslim scholars along with scholars of non-Islamic faiths speak from one public platform. From the press coverage, it was evident that this symposium changed the tone of many leaders in public life. This symposium was followed by an interfaith conference organized by Muslim league in Islamabad and President Musharraf starting using terms as interfaith understanding in his speeches.

The interfaith conferences initiated by Dr. Lal were so successful that they promoted many follow-up conferences throughout the world. Indeed, Dr. Bhai Harbans Lal is known and admired by scientists, faith organizations and his own Sikh community around the world.

As an academic, Dr. Lal retired in 2000 as Emeritus Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, TX. He was known for his research in behavioral medicine, substance abuse, and the prolongation of a healthy life span through nutritional enhancement. He has served on the advisory boards of the National Institute of health, the National Science Foundation, and the Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Harbans Lal holds many distinguished positions in Sikh institutions, which have honored him with their highest recognitions and awards. Those honors included the title of Bhai Sahib and Nishan-e-Khalsa, the highest recognitions ever bestowed upon any Sikh scholar and the person of distinction. Further, he can also claim the distinction in that he was honored also by religious organizations other than Sikh institutions.

Dr. Lal was honored with Life-Time Achievement Award on Unity Day USA. This award is to recognize those who promoted unity in USA after Nine- Eleven Terrorist Attack on USA. In 2010, Masjid Imam W. Deen Mohammed honored Dr. Harbans Lal at its 2ND ANNUAL UMMAH AWARDS APPRECIATION DINNER. Ummah means “Community” in Arabic and the annual award honors those who work towards furthering community development by bridging the gap among people of faith, races and cultures building community and understanding.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

The
incumbent president of United States, Barack Hussein Obama IIwould relinquish the mantle of presidency
on January 20 this year after remaining for 8 years on this most prestigious office
of the most powerful country. He was 48 years of age when he took over as the president
for the first term. He is now 56 years old. President Obama’s
first term as the 44th president of USA started on January 20, 2009
and the second on January 20 2013. His immense popularity can be judged from
the brightening fact that President Obama was elected twice. One can have no
doubt in believing that had there been a third term in the constitution, he
would have still returned victorious in the elections. President
Obama leaves behind him a glorious legacy of far-reaching achievements and
landmark attainments in diverse fields both domestically and internationally.
Those brilliant hallmarks might not be outshined by the future presidents of
the United States for a long time to come. In the backdrop of the sharp ethnic
divided between the white and the so called African American communities, his
reelection in 2013 speaks for his immense popularity and love among the diversity
of the American people.His “American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA}” saved and
created jobs after an unpresented economic meltdown. This Act provided
immediate investment and relief to those projects those were most affected by
the recession. It helped sustained investment in infrastructure, education,
health, renewable energy, industries mostly notably in automobile manufacturing
industries such as General Motors and Chrysler. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare was enacted was
in March 2010. This act brought about many fruitful changes in the then prevailing
medical and insurance malpractices. For instance, it facilitated “expansion of
health insurance coverage to the uninsured, to cap premium increases, and to
allow people to retain their coverage when they leave or change jobs. Also, known as the public option, to compete with the corporate insurance sector as
a main component to lowering costs and improving quality of health care. It
also made it illegal for insurers to drop sick people or deny them coverage for
pre-existing conditions,
it require every American to carry health coverage. The plan also includes
medical spending cuts and taxes on insurance companies that offer expensive
plans”. The first priority of the president elect Donald Trump
and the Republican party now in majority in both houses of congress, is to undo
this act which in fact is going to restore the previous system benefitting huge
health conglomerates at the cost of those Americans who cannot pay huge
premiums.In another landmark development initiated by president
Obama in the domain of foreign relations was the normalization of relations
between United States and Cuba. As a result of that the interest sections in
both countries were upgraded to the level of full embassies in July 2015.The negotiations spawned over a period of two years Between
Iran and United States during the Obama tenure as the president resulted in
signing of the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” that prevented Iran from
manufacturing Nuclear weapons or material. In return the stifling sanctions
imposed on Iran were lifted.There might be a difference of opinion in assessing the
Libyan civil war in which the American embassy was attacked resulting in the
death of the ambassador along with two other members. But the fact is that the
attack on the embassy was an offshoot of the chaos and no one could have stopped
it. Even Muammar Qaddafi the besieged ruler was also killed. But the American
military action did end the civil war speedily. It was a kind of timely help by
the Obama administration that saved further bloodshed.A "surgical raid" authorized by Obama
administration conducted by United States Navy
Sealson May
1, 2011, resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden and the seizure of important
information from his compound. He was the most wanted target of the United
States for many years. President Obama terminated the American combat operations
in Iraq and recalled the American soldiers stationed in Iraq by August
2010.In Afghanistan although there is
American military presence, but it is not engaged in active fighting but to
sustain the democratic system that is now in place against the Taliban and
other radical militants.From the foregoing, it is evident that president Obama
has been focused on reducing the international conflicts either political or
military in which United States has been either directly or indirectly
involved.As a person, he is a decent family man with two young
daughters and a loving wife. Interestingly
his name contains two words that are purely Islamic. Those were derived from
his father whose name was Barack Hussein Obama Sr.
Barack in Arabic means the blessed one. Hussain is the most coveted and sacred
name for the Muslims especially for Shia sect in Islam. Hussain was the
grandson of prophet Muhammad and was martyred by one of the Ommyad caliphs in
the desert of Karbala near Baghdad.Obama is a recipient ofthe 2009 Nobel Peace Prize"for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen
international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. In a poll conducted
by “Harris Interactive” in May 2009, president Obama was rated as the most
popular world leader. President Obama is among the top ten most popular and
successful presidents of the United States. The two latest
decisions made by president Obama have been very crucial and which demonstrate his
trait of fearless decision making. Lately in a clear departure from the past blind support
for Israel, United States abstained from vetoing a resolution against its ally Israel.
That facilitated passing of the Un Security council resolution on December 22 by
14-0 condemning the construction of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and
West bank. This was for the first time that America with Obama as president has
adopted a just and legitimate stance.The second decision taken on December 30 is the expulsion
of 35 Russian diplomats from America in retaliation to the hacking of the 2016
American presidential elections. President Obama has also imposed sanctions on
nine Russian entities and individuals involved in cyber hacking to manipulate
the results in favor of president elect Donald Trump and against the Democratic
candidate Hillary Clinton.His
popularity among all sections of the populace was strident and perhaps can be
rated among the leading presidential luminaries. He has been consistent and
endowed with a level of confidence and courage that enabled him to take
momentous decisions at a time when the USA was steeped in one of the deepest
economic chaos fomented by his Republican predecessor George W. Bush.A Gallup poll declared
Barack Obama as the 7th great president after Ronald Reagan (19%),Abraham
Lincoln (14%), Bill Clinton (13%), John F. Kennedy (11%), George Washington (10%),
Franklin Roosevelt (8%), Barack Obama (5%)A Quinnipiac University poll showed
Barack Obama as the fourth best president since World War II, after Ronald
Reagan (35%), Bill Clinton (18%), John F. Kennedy (15%), Barack Obama (8%),
Dwight Eisenhower (5%).

About Me

Columnist/Analyst/ Former Diplomat.
After obtaining my master’s degrees in Urdu and English literature from Punjab University, I started my career by teaching in a college. Thereafter, I had a stint in the diplomatic service of Pakistan. Finally I landed in journalism, an occupation that I am wedded to for over 20 years now.
I am a strong believer in a civil society and staunch opponent of exploitation in all forms.